goodcounselis a law practice of innovators for innovators. In a tradition-bound profession, we stand out by continuously seeking ways to deliver efficient, inventive, technology-enabled legal counsel to our entrepreneurial clients.

We represent privately-held companies of all sizes, from fledgling startups to established, profitable operating businesses. We also serve individuals occupying various roles across a variety of situations: from company co-founders starting a business, to investors funding one, to an executive wishing to arrange a smooth exit.

What can we do for you?

Get To Know our team

KennethObel

Principal Attorney

A lawyer by training and an innovator by temperament, the firm’s founder and principal attorney came to understand the needs of growing businesses in the most direct way possible: by starting one. Having experienced the thrills and challenges of being an entrepreneur, and working in business and legal roles at other entrepreneurs’ companies for a decade after exiting his startup, Ken developed a firsthand perspective and some strong opinions about how legal services could be delivered in a way that better fits the needs of the new enterprise.

As the number of startups in Chicago and across the country skyrocketed, Ken brought this perspective to the founding of goodcounsel, encoding a unique approach to lawyering into the firm’s DNA. Many years later, goodcounsel’s approach continues to resonate with the early-stage community, and its team has grown to meet demand by adding like-minded professionals.

JordanKoss

Attorney

Jordan arrived at goodcounsel in August 2017 as an experienced tech startup and venture capital lawyer. Most recently, Jordan practiced in the tech startup and M&A groups at Fenwick & West in San Francisco (2014 to 2017) and in the private equity and M&A groups of Kirkland & Ellis in New York (2010 to 2014). He has worked on deals of all shapes and sizes, including company-side and investor-side representions across VC financings, PE investments and all types of acquisitions/divestitures, several involving blue chip clients (including Uber, Grail, and Samsara, among others).

JoyceChen

Attorney

Having served as in-house counsel at then-startup Ryan Specialty Group, a niche brokerage and underwriting firm, Joyce came to goodcounsel experienced in providing young businesses with responsive and effective transactional advice in a range of practice areas. She also worked with the in-house legal team at Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics, on secondment for Baker & McKenzie (where she was a corporate associate for three years).

PeggySheppard

Paralegal

Peggy has worked as a paralegal for over 20 years, and has been with goodcounsel since 2015. She is the firm’s lead in corporate formation and maintenance, and participates in a wide range of other substantive matters in addition to overseeing engagement, billing, and payment matters. She is also the firm’s resident llama expert.